The Number Five - A Trip Report

[Seveen]

i'm back --- had a mini vacay and now back checking on yours! love it . . . i can feel the relaxation in your words :-)

[Seveen]

obviously cliff gravity :-)

[Beebeluv]

Good catch seven ..... Hey!!!!! Misty and the shark hunter whered you go lets hear it... We need our fix of report.

[Seveen]

shoot they're home! aghast lol

[JandMinJA]

We are indeed home. don't give up on us though. The remainder of the trip report and lots of pics are coming soon. Just have to play catch up at work for another day or so and then start reliving the trip. I start each morning with a cup of Blue Mountain and a sigh.

[JandMinJA]

Well, we’ve survived our first week back home and have begun the second. SharkHunter’s birthday was last week so some celebration eased the pain of being back in the states. I meant to start catching up my report this past weekend (have done a lot of mental writing) but we spent the weekend on the boat fishing instead. It was one of the things we missed the most in Negril. All that water and we didn’t have our own boat to laze the day away and wet a hook. It was good to get Serenity out on the water again. I’m pretty sure she missed us. Brought home a few fish to filet and add to the stock pile in the freezer. Wish it was snapper. I L.O.V.E. snapper. We'll have to settle for catfish, bass, and crappie though.

So where did we leave you all hanging? Moving day! We were up early for breakfast our last day. For some reason there was a shortage of ackee at the hotel and we hadn’t had any all week. Our dear night security guard had heard our disappointment and had personally secured some just for us. He had told us early in the week that he would. Well, one morning I awoke to a single ackee on the patio - I knew he had come through for us. It was a most excellent breakfast which earned both our sweet Miss S and the night watchman a generous tip. The bounty carried over to our last day. We anxiously packed our bags, said a very sad goodbye to K Man and others we had spent time with, and were ready to depart. I loved our time on the beach. I loved the easy access to everything. Loved being next door to Shamrock which made life easy and Red Stripe binging super cheap. Loved the sound of the traffic, the pretty sunrises, and the foliage. It took 5 trips to try the beach. I’m glad I did it. If I could do it over, I would have done 4 days on the beach and 10 on the cliffs. Glad I planned the beach part of our trip for the first week. I knew the cliffs wouldn’t disappoint so I saved the best for last. It was a wise choice. Overall, the beach side has a few more mosquitoes, heavier, moister air, and too many allergens for SH. We are glad for the experience, but I am without a doubt, 100% a cliffs girl. When we stepped into Samsara’s recently renovated lobby shortly after noon on Saturday, I knew I was home. Sign here, sign there, here are your keys to T1, it’ll be ready soon, off to the bar we went.

It wasn’t long before our room was ready and we ascended the stairs and opened the door. Surprise! Since our last visit, Samsara has updated their pillar houses with king size pillowtops. SH is 6’ 2” - a king is a necessity anywhere in the states. We make the exception in Negril. Looks like we won’t have to anymore! SWEET! We grin as we step on to the porch and look out from our little spot on the cliffs. The breeze cools us. Breezes! Oh how I missed those on the beach! The cliffs. Samsara. Home sweet home. That night we had pumpkin soup at dinner. There were other things, too, but I have waited so long for pumpkin soup I couldn’t tell you what else I ate that night. It didn’t matter. Pumpkin soup at last!

We spent that night the way we would spend most of the rest of the nights of our trip: sitting on our porch, listening to the reggae music and laughter coming from the bar, watching the stars twinkle, hearing the ocean crash against the cliffs below us. Talking and dreaming and being together and at peace. It was perfect. Just what we needed. We didn’t drink too much or stay up too late. The next day, SharkChef would be joining us. Must rest up for the adventure.

[JandMinJA]

A few pics from Rhodes Hall...

[Beebeluv]

YEAY!!!! glad your back and its going nice and smooth... ps.. happy belated SH!!!

[nicole.edith]

Lovely! Looking forward to more on Samsara as it was our second choice behind Xtabi. Great location and in our price range. Can't wait for the next installment!

[kaycee]

Rhodes hall is beautiful.